I have been up in Auckland this week for a business conference then got some blood test results back from the docs yesterday (I get my bloods done yearly). So I got called in to see the doc for a quick checkup as it showed a few 'areas of concern'. Blood pressure was up this time round (150/100 whereas I am normally about 110/70) and my heart was showing signs of fibrillation and extremely irregular heart rhythms. I've been fast tracked to see one of our best heart surgeons next week, I have to have a couple of heart tests and be monitored for 24hrs. I asked about the ultramarathon I have planned for August, they said if I were to go ahead there's a chance it could kill me. Say what, can you repeat that please ?!

I was born with aortic stenosis and had a small heart attack 3yrs ago BUT despite all of that it was thought that if I stayed fit and healthy I'd probably be okay until my 50's before I needed to have a stent fitted Seems like that might come round a lot sooner, damn talk about a curveball.

I should know morre next week after I have seen the cardiologist and surgeon so I'll update then. MF

Shit!! That sucks james I hope you can still keep up with your running, but if not have you considered powerlifting again? It would be really rad to see some more lifting videos from you. Gizza message if you fancy a chat man! Hang in there yeah!

klaatu21 wrote:sensai ross, forgive me for doubting you and myself

Mini Forklift Ⓥ wrote:There's only one thing I'm riding at 6am, and it's not a bike!

Sorry to hear about your recent news man, but keep your chin up, down let it get you down, its sounds like your in good hands and that your condition is very treatable. I also had high blood pressure up until a few years ago (i was 290lbs at the time), i started to look for ways of improving my BP without the need for meds, since i was eating fairly and exercising, i started do a lot of research into intermittent fasting and the health benefits that come along with it. I began with a 18-20 hr fast once a week, within a few weeks i upped it to a 24hrs, currently i use the 5/2 eating plan (two 24 hr fasts per week). I eating normally up until 6pm, and then don't eat until 6pm the next day, so i am eating every day, but theres a 24hr rest bite twice a week, since doing this, my blood pressure readings and resting heart rate have improve greatly.

The research indicates that when the body doesn't have to expend energy digesting food all the time, it free's up that energy and puts it into recovery. Food for thought, or should i say, no food for thought lol.

Well I have basically been 'instructed' by my cardiologist that I can't compete or race anymore, so I will be back in the gym as well as the running; to me there's no point solely running if I can't enter any running races, so I'm going to just try and chase the combo of staying as fit and strong as possible. The tests that I did (three of them) rung a few alarm bells and it's supposedly quite serious (although apart from the fibrillations/heartbeat skips I feel fine and in reasonable shape and fit). I'll probably start logging my weight training sessions back into this journal and write up my running in here as well.

The cardiologist told me the longest I can run is up to 50km (that was after I got him up from his initial recommendation of a marathon at training pace haha) but efforts like that need to be infrequent. On one hand I was pretty gutted that I can't compete anymore, but if I look at the big picture it's not all bad I guess. I'm now waiting to hear back from them as it looks like I will be having surgery at some point to have a stent fitted, need to have a read up and find out what that involves and how serious/big the operation is.

Glad you got some answers man; and I hope they find a resolution to your ticker that can give you some piece of mind. In the mean time it's pretty awesome you're still chugging at it. I'll keep you in my thoughts brother.

Sorry to hear about the heart problems. Hope you're hanging in there, dealing with the change in lifestyle. I know there is likely an adjustment period from all the running and lifting, cutting down to more moderate training.

Sorry to hear about the heart problems. Hope you're hanging in there, dealing with the change in lifestyle. I know there is likely an adjustment period from all the running and lifting, cutting down to more moderate training.

Keep us updated.

Wishing you all the best.

Robert

Thanks so much Robert, I just got my report back from my cardiologist today. Pretty good, can't really ask for more than that. I'm allowed to train as I was before, have to another ECG in a couple of weeks time to rule out any structural heart disease but I have been told that's unlikely

Mini Forklift Ⓥ wrote:....I was born with aortic stenosis and had a small heart attack 3yrs ago BUT despite all of that it was thought that if I stayed fit and healthy I'd probably be okay until my 50's before I needed to have a stent fitted Seems like that might come round a lot sooner, damn talk about a curveball.....

I'm not terribly informed about these types of issues, but is it possible that all the exercise you do is stressing your heart too much? For example, you mentioned that you recently got your heart rate up to 196. To me, this sounds like maybe unnecessary stress on your heart that it's not in the mood to handle right now, but again, I'm not really an expert.

Fallen_Horse wrote:I'm not terribly informed about these types of issues, but is it possible that all the exercise you do is stressing your heart too much?

Yes, I am sure that over the years the intensity of the training has stressed my heart. I'm fit but I would imagine there's also been damage that has occurred, and I already know that my heart is a lot larger than an average person for a start.

Fallen_Horse wrote:...you mentioned that you recently got your heart rate up to 196. To me, this sounds like maybe unnecessary stress on your heart that it's not in the mood to handle right now, but again, I'm not really an expert.

The 196bpm was actually from the exercise test I did with the cardiologist last month The highest I have ever hit in training was 191. If I'm honest I feel pretty comfortable and in control right up until my HR gets into the high 180's (as in I can still hold a conversation); the cardiologist told me that I simply have a high aerobic threshold which is probably why I can hold a fast/hard pace for a long time.

I'm back into the training again now (powerlifting rather than the endurance stuff), but I'm definately aware that I need to be careful. Just to put things into perspective, the cardiologist explained to me that during a 24hr Holter Test an average person would typically have 500-1,000 ectopic heartbeats. During my 24hr test I had over 18,000!